Tom Hanks Presents Special Diploma to Class of '20

Tom Hanks, shown in February, recognized the nation's new high school graduates on Friday. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

(Newser)
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We are all pandemic victims, which Tom Hanks well knows; the actor and his wife, Rita Wilson, have recovered from COVID-19. But only one age group was trying to wrap up a high school education when the coronavirus hit. In recognition of their "distinct labors in the face of the Great Pandemic," per the Hollywood Reporter, the star posted a special diploma on social media Friday for 2020 graduates. The diploma marks the "successful completion of your education despite the hardships imposed by the COVID-19 crisis." Signed by Hanks and, somehow, the late Albert Einstein, the message on the official-looking certificate concludes, "You have displayed honor, dedication, wherewithal and good citizenship."

"Print this up on a sheepskin!" Hanks' tweet advised. The diploma isn't the only way the actor has honored this spring's graduates. Early this month, per Rolling Stone, he unexpectedly posted a video message for the new graduates of Wright State University. "You are the chosen ones because of a fate unimagined when you began your Wright State adventures," he told them, adding that they, having lived through "the time of great sacrifice and great need," will remake the post-pandemic world. "The future is always uncertain," Hanks said, "but we who celebrate what you have done, we are certain of one thing on this day—you will not let us down." In the spirit of graduation, Hanks on Friday also tweeted his senior photo from Skyline High School, class of 1974. (Read more uplifting news stories.)